New York: Cuomo takes ten points off Mamdami thanks to Adams exit

Andrew Cuomo significantly increased his voting intention since the departure of Eric Adams from the race in New York City. According to a poll released by Suffolk University, and just days before the NYC mayoral election, the former governor managed to pull within ten percentage points of progressive Zohran Mamdani in recent weeks. However, the young assemblyman remains the favorite to win next Tuesday, November 4.

After months of insisting he would not step down from his candidacy, Adams opted to step aside on Sept. 28. Through a pre-recorded video, he acknowledged that fundraising difficulties had left him at a distinct disadvantage to his rivals. Some time later, he confirmed his endorsement of Cuomo.

"Am I angry I’m not the one taking down Zohran, the socialist and communist? You’re darn right I am. We’re fighting against a snake-oil salesman," he said at a campaign rally he headlined alongside Cuomo in Harlem.

Since then, Cuomo has managed to take ten percentage points off Mamdani, putting him in a more competitive position. This was reflected by the latest Suffolk University poll, which showed the socialist with 44% against 34% for the former governor.

This represents strong growth for Cuomo over September, when the same poll measured Cuomo twenty points behind his chief rival.

The poll also showed that the former governor's most significant advance was among Hispanic voters, "where he now leads by one point, after trailing Mamdani by 30 points in September." In addition, he went from losing among independents by 18 points to being up by ten.

However, for David Paleoglogos, director of Suffolk University's Center for Political Research, Adams' exit is still not enough for Cuomo to have a concrete chance of defeating Mamdani in November.

"There is one person in New York City whose voters could have an outsized impact on the outcome. That person isn’t Mayor Eric Adams, Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Senator Chuck Schumer, or any New York billionaire. It’s Republican Curtis Sliwa, whose voters hold the 11% blocking Cuomo from winning the race," he explained.

Sliwa, 71, is leading his second bid for New York City mayor as a Republican. His first was in 2021, when he lost in the general election to Adams.

Despite pressure from Republican quarters for Sliwa to step down from his candidacy, the founder of the Guardian Angels organization repeatedly confirmed that his intention is to run against Mamdani and Adams.